Tag Archives: gastro brewpub

On January 20th I headed to Victoria with my wife for the Brewers Reserve Series launch event at Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub. Spinnakers Brewpub is the original brewpub in Canada after prohibition and opened in 1984. There is no doubt that Spinnakers has some major history and they are looking to create even more history with their new barrel program.

Get to know the brewery better by checking out the podcast we did on Pacific Beer Chat. We sat down with Paul Hadfield the founder and Matt West-Patrick one of the brewers. You can also find this episode on your favorite Podcast app at Pacific Beer Chat.

Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub is located on the waterfront just outside of Downtown Victoria and might win for best brewpub location ever. This place has an English Pub vibe through and through. The lower level is more of a restaurant with the top floor being more of a bar.

To top off the Brewpub they also have a lodging in their guesthouse. We stayed at the guesthouse while there and really enjoyed out stay. Staying with Spinnakers means you get a hot breakfast and Chocolate and beer tasting included with out stay.

Now lets get to the real reason we headed to Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in the first place. The latest beers to be released in the Brewers Reserve Series are Rubus a Blackberry Sour (Number 9) and Prunus Plum Sour (Number 10). If you can find bottles of these beers make sure to pick them up as they are very limited.

Rubus Blackberry Sour

The beer pours a deep red colour with a very low carbonation and very little head. The aroma consists of blackberries, mild cherry, semi sweet notes and tartness. The flavour is of blackberries, cherries, tartness, wheat, oak with an almost wine like finish. The alcohol content comes in at 5.1%. This is quite the tasty Blackberry sour and I would highly recommend picking up a bottle of this.

Prunus Plum Sour

The beer pours a deep orange brown colour with almost no head and little carbonation. The aroma consists of plum, sweetness and tartness. The flavour is of plum, wheat, mild oak, wine, semi sweet with some good tartness. The alcohol content comes in at 4.8%. Like the Rubus this beer is exceptionally tasty. I would recommend picking up at least one of these bottles if you can find it.

This new series of beer are really tasty and I can not wait to see what they have coming in the future.

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Blue Bridge Double Pale Ale”. The beer pours a cloudy copper colour with a white head with lots of lacing. The aroma consists of floral hops, citrus and some sweetness. The flavour is of orange, citrus, toffee, candied sugar, resin, medium bitterness and some alcohol. The alcohol content comes in at 8.2% with an IBU of 36. I have not had this one in a while and I don’t know why I waited. Well worth picking up some the next time your at the liquor store.

Commercial Description: An emerging new world style, this double pale blends north-west and noble bittering hops and finishes with old world noble aromatic hops to create a complex and floral hop profile. This beer is superbly balanced, masking its strong body and making the beer very drinkable. Beware!